Thing #23

Whew! Thing #23!

What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey? My favorite discovery was the Rollyo simply because it was the one tool I had honestly never even heard of before!

How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals? This program has made me actually put my hands on technologies I hadn't experimented before, and it made me think about real-world applicability of the different tools. By discovering how I could actually use the resources discussed, it made me take ownership of these tools and I feel confident I'll use them moving ahead.

Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
The amount of Web 2.0 tools out there surprised me. Looking at the list of Award Winners was inspiring...albeit a bit overwhelming!

What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept? I really felt it was easily accessible as was. I know this program has been done a few times now, so I was unable to find any glitches aside from a couple broken links.

If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you choose to participate?
Most definitely! I loved the learn at your own pace style and the fact that I was invited to actually play around with the tools!

How would you describe your learning experience in ONE WORD or in ONE SENTENCE, so we could use your words to promote 23 Things learning activities? An adventure in Web 2.0 tools that allows you to play while you learn!

Now go and comment on some of the other Players' blogs? Yes, I will!

Thing #22

Nings are the new wave! I love how the Ning combines blogs, wikis, Twitter, and so many other Web 2.0 tools into one! A Ning can be used by a group of librarians where each library has it's own page and can feature what their library is doing. Users could browse each other's pages and share professional ideas and discussion threads and communicate about each librarian's page and what's going on in each other's libraries. While many of the capabilities of a Ning are present in other Web 2.0 tools, the Ning has combined these capabilities into one neat package!

Thing #21

My two favorites: my son and my daughter!

PhotoStory is fun, easy, and extremely applicable to the library setting. From making booktrailers, to presenting research, to creating music videos, the kids will have a blast using this resource...and so will I!

Thing #20

As with many school districts YouTube is blocked for me, but the good thing is, you can still download and convert your videos using http://www.zamzar.com/. So, finding videos at home and converting them is always an option. TeacherTube is not blocked and is therefore useful in the classroom itself. Students can explore different topics and download videos. Teachers can also upload to TeacherTube and make their videos accessible to other teachers and students. Both offer a plethora of opportunities like finding information on topics being researched to pique student interest, the capability of having students "publish" their finished video projects, a resource to find book trailers to advertise books in the library, and much more.

Below is a booktrailer I found for the book Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher.

Thing #19

DonorsChoose - http://www.donorschoose.org/teachers

I chose to explore the DonorsChoose website. This website is philanthropic in nature and allows you to post projects (similar to grants) where you explain what you'd like for your classroom, library, or other educational venue. Then you create a shopping cart so to speak filled with the materials. You can leave your project up for 5 months at a time. Donors then search and choose which projects to donate to. If you're lucky, your project is funded and you receive the requested items. You then provide thank you letters from yourself and students as well as pictures of the students using the materials you received. You don't pay anything for this service! It just takes a little bit of time! What a great way to get some much needed materials into the library! You could write grants for book club books, to bulk up a smaller section of the library, to receive decorating supplies to enhance the look and feel of the library, to get equipment in the library which the library budget can't cover. There are endless possibilities! Incredible! And highly useful as you aren't just applying for a single grant from a single organization, but you're putting your project out there for a multitude of people to review and choose whether they wish to fund it or not.

Thing #18

The great thing about both Open Office and Google Docs is the accessibility and the interactiveness of both. These are aspects completely missing in Microsoft Word which is neither free (and therefore less accessible) or interactive (you can produce a static project that could then be emailed and changed and emailed again and changed...and eventually you end up with multiple copies not knowing which is the most recent). A problem comes in the fact that Microsoft Word is so well-known and these two free alternatives are not. That means a learning curve would need to take place. As with all of these tools, playing around with them is necessary to encourage people to acutally utilize these tools and resources.

Thing #17

Rollyo is fun! I felt extremely cool making my very own search engine. I didn't even know this was possible. I love the idea that it is customized to me and I don't have to wade through so many irrelevant sites to find the one site I found useful before.

I created a searchroll for young adult series and authors. I often get questions in the library about what the next book in a series is or who the author of a series is or when the next book is coming out, so this makes it very easy for me to do a quick search!

http://rollyo.com/brightwt/book_series_and_authors/

Thing #16

Wiki, wiki, wiki! While some people love to hate Wikipedia, wikis are actually great resources! Wikis can be used for numerous curricular activities such as professional development amongst peers, sharing information with co-workers or other librarians in the same district or across the country, or to set up a useful site for students about to embark on research. Wikis are incredibly interactive, and that's why they are so useful for the abovementioned activities. Professionals can add/edit/delete information as it becomes relevant or outdated on a professional blog. Students can take ownership in their research and add comments and useful sites they've found during the research process.

Thing #15

Web 2.0 has been a buzz-word for quite some time now, and now this concept has spread into the library. Thus emerged Library 2.0. The concept itself is simply to provide library services to users in the formats they can use and to bring it to them outside the walls of the library. No longer is the library situated squarely inside the four walls of the building in which it physically sits, but it can now expand and bring in new users and help users in ways not previously available. This means the school library can now offer sources to students at home, connect students to other students across the globe, and encourage learning in new and exciting ways. It also means the librarian now has the responsibility to ensure students are information literate. With these new technologies comes the responsibility to educate students on the appropriate and ethical use of these services and products. The librarian's job is not diminished as some people fear or becoming obsolete, but rather evolving. The librarian now has a much more relevant and time-imperative job than ever before thanks to Web 2.0 tools. While this new world is a bit intimidating because it is ever-changing, ever-evolving, it is our responsibility to tackle it and show students what is available to them.

Thing #14

Having a tool like Technorati to tag and categorize the onslaught of blogs being created on a daily basis is beyond a doubt one of the most useful of the tools thus far in my opinion. Of course, the inherent problem with tags are that anyone can tag something anything they want. Without a standardization, there might be THE MOST USEFUL BLOG EVER!, but you might never find it because you don't know what someone has tagged it as. You could be using a search term to find that exact blog, but never find it due to this. However, that aside, the fact that there is some organization to these blogs and that they are searchable is invaluable. Using these tags and search capabilities, finding blogs to help me in my professional field is easier than ever before. Thanks, Technorati!

Thing #13

Social bookmarking is amazing! I can create bookmarks of personal interests to share with friends and family, I can create a bookmark for each research unit conducted in the library to share with teachers and students so they can access recommended sources and sites, I can create a bookmark for students with reading-related blogs for my readers, I can create a bookmark with professional links to share with my fellow librarians so we share useful resources. The possibilities are infinite! What a great way to harness the enormous, and sometimes overwhelming, resource that is the Internet for students and teachers alike.

Thing #12

1. 2 important aspects of commenting: Comment because you have something important to share or you are "driven" to share. Criticize kindly.

I think these two points are essential when thinking about blogging or Internet etiquette. Commenting a simple "I agree" statement adds nothing to the discussion and clogs up time wading through irrelevant comments. In addition, people sometimes think because the Internet gives them a feeling of anonymity they can post whatever they see fit, forgetting real people are reading these posts and reacting to them. Don't say on the Internet or on a blog what you wouldn't say in person!

2. I posted comments to blogs from previous courses as well as the current go round. I'd like to think people who have been through the 23 Things want to continue their professional development and I found some of their blogs quite useful since they've already been through this process!

3.
Noflyingnotights - a great blog about anime/manga. This is vital as I scour sources for information on the ever popular graphic novels the students in my library want me to buy.
http://www.noflyingnotights.com/

Graphic Novel Review - another blog about anime/manga. It is so hard to find good information about graphic novels and to find reviews for graphic novels, that I am always looking for more sources.
http://www.graphicnovelreview.com/

Thing #11

LibraryThing is amazing! Simply put! I love the interactiveness of it. It's a book club and discussion forum for people who can't make it to a book club in person. I could envision using this with my book club students or recommending it to teachers to use in their classrooms for response journals. Students can search a large database of books, and when they add a book they like, LibraryThing gives them recommendations for similar books with similar tags! Students can even find groups of people interested in similar literature and hold discussions with them! Students primarily become turned off from reading when they feel they are being forced to read something they aren't interested in. With LibraryThing, no matter their interest, there are a group of people ready to talk to them about it. And no one can judge them because they have the anonymity of the internet!

Thing #10

Image Generators are cool!

I played around with a few different generators:
http://click7.org/image-mosaic-generator/?create
http://www.imagegenerator.org/
http://www.imagechef.com/

All of them were easy to use and fun! The mosaic to the left was created using an image mosaic generator. The applicability of these generators in the library is numerous. They could be used to do redesigned book covers, to advertise books, to make bookmarks, to advertise book clubs, to make reading awards, etc., etc. The list goes on!

Thing #9

I love the idea of being able to search for blogs to meet my needs. Many of these search tools were blocked at school, so this is a bummer since I use my RSS Feed mostly for work-related purposes, but one good one that was not blocked was Technorati. I did a search for "anime" to see what blogs I could find on anime since this is an extremely popular genre in my library and finding good sources of information about anime is difficult at best. I was impressed by the selection of blogs covering this topic and liked how the blogs were tagged so I could find other similar blogs. Through my search I found some useful sites including MangaBlog and JadeDragonOnline. None of the search tools were really difficult to use, but like with any new tool, the more it is used the more acclimated you become to the tool and the more useful it becomes as new uses are discovered.

Thing #8

I accidentally jumped ahead it would seem. I set up my own RSS Feed and discussed it in Thing #7!

1. What I like about RSS Feeds! In short - everything! I love the simplicity of it, the convenience of it, and the applicability to my job.

2. How might I use an RSS Feed. I will use the RSS feed daily or weekly to keep abreast of current topics in the library field and to see what books are being discussed and talkeda bout.

3. How can I take advantage of this new technology. By using it, of course! I can set up all of the blogs and websites I usually visit daily or weekly and have the information aggregated to one location to search through at my convience! Nice!

Thing #7

When looking at Google applications, I tended to gravitate towards those tools which would be useful in teaching students how to research. The Google advanced search option was one of them. Imagine showing students how advanced searches are generalizable between databases and the web. Students often struggle with the onslaught of information available when googling. By giving them a tool to narrow their search and teaching them how to use it, searching will be more productive for them.

Another tool I saw was the Google Reader, or RSS feed, which allows you aggregate news into one location. This is extremely useful for keeping track of information from various professional sources. Instead of visiting each cite independently, the information can come directly to me in one location. What a convenience and time saver!

Google Docs could also be useful when having students edit and revise each other's work. Perhaps they could upload their rough draft of their research paper and other students could revise and edit and make comments for them from Google Docs. This would also be useful for students working in a group as they could upload all material to Google Docs. No more will saying the absent student has the work be an acceptable reason for coming to class without a project. If it was uploaded to Google docs printer problems would be obsolete. Students would simply need to log in to Google Docs to get their partner's work or to access their essay. This is a great resource for conducting school-wide surveys as well.

So many Google applications! And all of them have one, two, or several uses in the library and school!

Thing #6

Mash-ups! Fantastic!

I didn't know what a mash-up was prior to this experience, but I'm extremely excited about the applicability of mash-ups in the library. Just like Flickr, some of the mash-ups are blocked on my school computer, but some of them aren't and could be used by book club students or students conducting research in the library.

What about using the Mosaic Maker in order to revolutionize book reports. Instead of or in conjunction with a traditional book report, students could find pictures to represent the book they read. The Mosaic Maker could be used to advertise books in the same way. With some well-picked pictures, a potential reader could gravitate towards certain books!

What about having art students collaborate with the library and use technology such as the Flicker Color Pickr on one of their art projects?

What about using Mappr with history and social studies classes as they map out locations and make an anthropological map or other map so they can visually see different aspects of history and make connections by labeling their maps with Flickr photos to represent different historical movements or time periods?

So many applications, so little time! Mash-ups could revolutionize some of the collaborative activities in the library!

Thing #5

I was disappointed to find some areas of Flickr are blocked at my school since this is an invaluable resource I could use when compiling photographs to make book trailers. I was able to find an extremely cute picture of a baby rabbit and surf through other photographs protected by a Creative Commons license, however.

I especially like how Flickr has the website designed where you can search just those photographs uploaded under a Creative Commons license as well as breaking it down by what the license includes (attribution, no derivatives, etc.). This makes it extremely useful for individuals to adhere to copyright and fair use guidelines.

The tags on the photographs are also extremely helpful as they allow searchers to find similar pictures once they have found one or two which fit their needs. The idea of sharing photographs with a group is also useful as I could foresee all the librarians in the district having an account and sharing photograph ideas with the other librarians via sharing pictures with the group, tagging pictures shared with the group, and commenting on pictures shared with the group. What an awesome way to share photographs for book trailers, displays, library programs, etc.!

Mediagraphy:

She's Not Ther. Wild Baby Rabbit. 2010. Photograph. Web. 8 June 2010.

Thing #3

Creating a blog and an avatar were not new activities for me, so the process was fairly simple. What was different was playing with new layouts and the initial excitement of setting up a blog. Creating a blog requires one to focus on the 4 C's discussed in thing #3 - community, content, consistency, and clarity. These factors effect everything from the layout of the blog to the posts included in the blog. And all of these have to be determined when first creating the blog! That's a lot of pressure!

Thing #2

After completing thing #2, I came away with a few realizations. First, I am a lifelong learner, and second, I have some habits I need to acquire.

The easiest of the 7 1/2 habits for me is Habit #4 - having confidence in myself as a competent, effective learner. I have been a student in a formal setting almost continuously since kindergarten, so the formal education arena is my playground. As a librarian, I also love to read and often read to learn.

The hardest of the 7 1/2 habbits for me is Habit #7 1/2 - playing. This is the most vital of the habits according to the presentation, but I forget to play often because I have a set agenda in mind and goals I want to reach, and I do what needs to be done to attain those goals and I learn the information I need to learn to attain those goals, but I forget to play with the information, too, and to explore outside the box so I can acquire knowledge beyond just what I need at that moment.

Throughout the process, I'm going to try to force myself to play.